A Quick Guide To Building A WhatsApp Chatbot

Primary Functions Of WhatsApp Chatbot

Here are the primary functions of the chatbot:

• Customer Support:

  Unlike traditional customer service, it offers 24/7 automated customer support with natural responses to customer queries without any delay or human intervention.

• Lead Generation:

  Initiate conversations with website visitors or new users to collect information and qualify leads based on their responses.

• Sales:

  Engaging with potential customers, helping them choose the right product or service, answering their product-related queries, and assisting them in completing the purchase.

• Collecting Feedback:

  Chatbots can gather information as customer feedback on several products or services to understand what works and what doesn’t.

Step-by-Step Process To Build WhatsApp Chatbot

Set Up A WhatsApp Business Profile

A WhatsApp Business profile is requisite for creating the chatbot for this messaging app. It allows you to access various features to streamline your customer service on WhatsApp.

To set it up, download the WhatsApp Business application. Go through the registration process, verify your business phone number, and add branding details. Your users will only engage with the chatbot you create through this WhatsApp business profile.

Decide Your Objective

The process of creating a custom chatbot for the WhatsApp platform changes depending on your set objective. Decide what you want to achieve with this chatbot. Is it for lead generation? Do you want it for customer support? This will primarily help in the stage when you craft the WhatsApp chatbot flow to perform a set of functionalities.

Choose WhatsApp Chatbot Building Platform

With thorough research and examining client testimonials, you will get a fair idea of the reputation of any chatbot platform. This is a good start as most available options will be shortlisted, leaving you very few to further opt from.

Identify the potential of the tools as per their resources and merit on technicality and customisation with a balance of user-friendly no-code chatbot builder capabilities

Then, the best you can do is pick a reliable and leading BSP like Route Mobile, offering a robust chatbot solution, Roubot, providing advanced features and benefits such as:

• Seamless integration
• Drag-and-drop no-coding builder
• Flow builder (fastest bot-building tool)
• Userfriendly UI
• Real-time advanced analytics
• Deploy across multiple digital channels
• Intent-focused chat navigation
• Live chat integration
• Exceptional support
• Automated lead qualification
• Robust dashboard
• On-the-go campaign scheduling
• Monitoring, tracking & A/B testing

Undoubtedly, such a plethora of features and advantages make Roubot the clear winner.

Also Read: Guide to choosing a chatbot that’s right for your business

Obtain & Integrate WhatsApp Business API

You need to seamlessly integrate your WhatsApp Business Profile to the BSP’s chatbot platform you opted for. To do this, you need to apply for WhatsApp Business API.

For integration, you can leverage the expertise of cloud communication services like ours. We at Route Mobile offer WhatsApp API solutions, offering a comprehensive suite of APIs allowing developers to design applications integrated with WhatsApp functionalities.

Using API, you will be able to develop all the WhatsApp-centric applications, including custom chatbots, broadcast messaging, and more.

Map Out Conversational Flow & Menu Of Options

Leveraging our fastest bot-building tool, Flow Builder, you can create a personalised chatbot for your business as per your set objective and application.

Using the same, you can create a logic tree to define triggers determining the chatbot’s responses towards the customers.

There is a simple drag-and-drop user interface with intuitive design tools, making chatbot building easier, simpler, and faster for businesses without any coding knowledge at all.

You also need to create a menu of options where the person can choose the option they are interested in.

Using NLP To Understand User-Intent

Integrating Natural Language Processing (NLP) into your customised chatbot will improve its ability to understand user intent and respond accordingly.

It leverages complex algorithms and user data to identify user intentions based on their input, helping to respond on a much more personalised level.

NLP-integrated chatbots can maintain context throughout the conversation and collect data to personalise the interaction and provide tailored responses.

Testing Your WhatsApp Chatbot

Before deploying the chatbot, it is essential to put it through proper testing to ensure its functionality and response accuracy. Verify that all features work as intended and that the bot responds accurately to various inputs.

Also, gather feedback from real users interacting with the bot to identify any confusing elements or usability issues.

Conduct Performance Testing, where you need to examine how well the bot handles multiple users simultaneously without lagging or crashing.

Deploy Your WhatsApp Chatbot

And now, you’re ready to launch your WhatsApp chatbot. The only thing is left to deploy your bot and start using it.

Upon using it, you can observe how it resolves the various types of inquiries and responses.

Also, make sure to keep observing and checking the chatbot analytics to monitor the overall progress in functionality.

Read More: Launching A WhatsApp Chatbot For Banking

Types Of WhatsApp Chatbots With Examples/Use Cases

There are two types of WhatsApp chatbots based on their functioning, i.e. how they work.

Rule-Based Chatbots

Simply put, a rule-based WhatsApp chatbot will offer a list of options for your prospects or customers to choose from. To account for the response from an individual, it uses either of these two ways:

• Interactive buttons
• Designated keywords

Example:

One of the most common examples of a rule-based chatbot can be seen in cinema ticket booking apps or platforms. Their chatbots simply attend to a set number of queries and branching follow-ups, allowing users to pick the booking date, time, name of the movie, etc.

NLP-Based Chatbots

NLP stands for Natural Language Processing, a component of Artificial intelligence.

These are AI-powered chatbots that leverage NLP to engage customers in much more personalised, nuanced, and human-like conversations. The best part is that they learn and remember and also evolve over time. NLP-based chatbots are capable of resolving complex customer queries.

Large language models (LLMs), text analysis, emotional quotient, and conversational AI also add to their core functionalities, making them a futuristic technology essential for businesses to adapt to.

Here are some major benefits of NLP-based Chatbots:

• Used as next-gen AI agents able to handle complex customer issues
• Offer hyper-personalization for every interaction
• Multilingual capabilities
• Collect valuable insights and data from customer
• Saves a lot of operational cost

Suggested Read: How do NLP Chatbots Work?

Example:

One of the remarkable examples of NLP chatbots is used in the mental health space.

Wysa is an excellent example of this use case. Their chatbot acts as a therapy bot, helping people who need someone to talk to when they have anxiety, are stressed, or relapsed.

It is capable of evaluating the symptoms from the conversations and reasons for a mental health problem. It can actually create sessions where similar people can talk to each other, recommending personalised meditative and relaxation techniques.

Here are two more types of WhatsApp chatbots based on their application and availability, which are the most prominent forms. These chatbots are primarily NLP-based chatbots as well.

Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants are advanced-level secured chatbots with specific training on more sensitive and private information to build an ecosystem supporting individuals and sharing valuable advice with them.

It also converses with the person to give and take personal information for a more personalised and effective response.

Chatbots are going to handle up to 90% of healthcare and financial inquiries by the end of this year. They are indeed trusted, secure, and primarily used in industries such as financial planning, healthcare, etc.

Example:

Megi is a powerful WhatsApp chatbot in the form of a virtual assistant. It acts as a personal healthcare assistant for patients, exchanging their personal information, such as blood pressure, symptoms, etc, with personalised care tips and insights. It stimulates human conversation, hitting all the right emotional notes and giving comfort to patients when they talk to the bot.

Customer Service

Perhaps the most common type of WhatsApp chatbot is customer service bots, which almost every brand uses today.

In fact, AI Chatbots and live chat are the two most popular customer service channels in 2024.

These are specifically designed to assist customers with potential queries and follow-ups, including FAQs, product-related queries, account details, and more.

Customer service bots integrate with your company’s database for quick record access, sharing updates, checking customers’ documents, and more.

Benefits of customer service WhatsApp chatbots:

• 24/7 availability
• Reduce customer support cost
• Offer scalability
• Allow customer service or sales representation more time to focus on high-level queries.
• Increase customer engagement

Example:

Amazon’s e-commerce product assistant is a great example of customer service WhatsApp chatbots. They help customers search for products, track their orders, explore new offers, handle returns and refunds, and much more without leaving their messaging app.

Must Read: Everyday Benefits Of Chatbot Technology

Conclusion

WhatsApp chatbot allows businesses to automate customer support, lead generation, personalisation, and other critical functions. It leverages advanced AI components such as NLP to stimulate human-like conversations for a more engaging customer experience within the WhatsApp platform.

With the right chatbot builder from a reputed business service provider brand such as Route Mobile, you can create chatbots easily and quickly. We at Route Mobile offer Roubot, our chatbot solution with a plethora of advanced features for businesses. To make your own customised WhatsApp chatbot, contact our experts today!

FAQs

Why Must Businesses Have Their Own WhatsApp Chatbots?

Leverage the potential of leading messaging platforms and next-gen chatbot technology combined in WhatsApp chatbots to automate customer responses 24/7, improve customer engagement, generate leads, boost conversion rate, personalised interactions, and more.

How Does NLP WhatsApp Chatbot Mimic Human Conversation?

NLP provides chatbots with the ability to mimic human conversation by analysing the input and converting these into logical forms that machines can apprehend. It further uses technologies such as text analysis, sentiment analysis, and speech recognition to promote informed responses.

What Features Are Must For Choosing The Right Chatbot Builder Platform?

The right chatbot platform must be backed by a reputed cloud communication platform with robust infrastructure and resources. Prioritise features like no-coding drag-and-drop builder, workflow builder, campaign management, real-time advanced analytics, intent-focused chat navigation, and a powerful dashboard.